Moral Moments

Real Epistemology, or On Being Your Own Scientist

by Joel Marks

The words “and other” are a part of the name of this column because occasionally I like to discuss topics other than morality and ethics. Philosophy is generally thought to consist of three main areas of inquiry: metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Ethics has to do, of course, with right and wrong and good and bad; metaphysics considers the nature of being, while epistemology tackles the problem of knowledge. A metaphysical question I have dealt with in this column is whether the ‘light’ of consciousness plays an important role in human existence, or could we get along just as well “in the dark”? (see Issue 44).

But what is this ‘problem’ of knowledge? The classic epistemic question was posed by René Descartes: How do I know that I am not now dreaming? He thought he had an answer to that question, and his Meditations do make for a mesmerizing read in this regard.

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